Whitney Houston

In case you haven't heard, Whitney Houston died. Boo fucking hoo!

A few months ago, my mother's uncle died. I don't know exactly what the legal relationship is, but I know that his mother is my great-grandmother. That is a relationship that can be proven by DNA.

My question is, why the fuck is this country so enraptured by the death of Whitney Fucking Houston? First of all, I grieved the death of my mother's uncle, someone I knew and loved, in five days and got back to doing what I knew made him happy (seeing me being successful at whatever it was that I wanted to do). More than seven days later, I have to deal with her "memorial service" on my television. Second, for all of you that are grieving, have you ever met Whitney Houston? Do you know her, or are you projecting upon her your image of the perfect life, just because she could do something you cannot do? I can play guitar and drums, as well as turn the most paltry computer that you what to throw in the garbage into something useful. Is my funeral going to be broadcast nationwide? Think about this, while she was busy doing all of the drugs that killed her, do you think that Whitney cared in the least about whether or not you were about to make your mortgage payment or feed your kids? Third, where the fuck were you when she was alive?

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Linux is NOT Freeware!

Yesterday, I was discussing a few things with a co-worker. He asked me about how I got a particular configuration on my screen, and I explained that I had to do it manually. I told him that there was software that did it automatically, but I couldn't use it because of its license (free for non-commercial use).After explaining that using that particular software on a laptop issued to me as a function and for the purpose of performing my job (as a third party vendor for a commercial enterprise) would violate the 'non-commercial' clause of the license, I explained to him that my preference is the use of free software. He asked what I use. Obviously, I replied, "Linux".I explained Linux's license, and he said, "So, it's freeware." This is the same thing my brother said 2 months ago, but I didn't bother to take the time to explain the difference, because my brother is a fucking idiot.Back to my co-worker. I explained how you can download a piece of software from download.com and have to agree to a license that does not allow you to redistribute it, modify it, or use it for a commercial purpose. Then I explained how Linux can be used. I explained that Linux is 'free' and 'open source', citing the 4 freedoms as the definition of "free" and pointing out that 'free of cost' was not one of them. I even told him that I would be perfectly in line with the license (the GPL), if every six months, I took the latest version of Ubuntu, striped out all branding and artwork, and renamed it 'Go Fuck Yourself'ix, as long as I complied with the availability of source code provisions of the GPL.I ended the conversation by equating the draconian measures of SOPA/PIPA as a result of the ignorance of, the lack of respect for, and the flagrant violation of copyright laws in the Corporate States of Corporaterica. I don't know if I converted him, but at least I explained to him why, professionally, I abide by software licenses. The reason is because I put my employer and our client at risk of a lawsuit. If I was allowed to use Linux and the wealth of free software to do my job, I could do it much more efficiently and without risk of letigation.

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Annual Performance Review

It has been a week since my first APR came due, yet I still haven't gotten it. Is this a way for my employer to not give me a raise (I already know I won't be getting the raise I deserve)?

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Uptime

My personal SSH, Print, File server has an uptime of 12 days. It would have been 124 days if not for a power outage, guess how long ago. I'll give you a hint, 12 days.

I have had this server for four years, and I am still trying to hit 1 year uptime. Twice, I took it down, once to change the motherboard, and again to change the hard drive configuration. Both of these were within 2 months.

So, why the fuck can I not hit 1 year of uptime, other than because ConEd cannot reliably provide power, something that they reliably charge me for?

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Turning 40

I feel old. My 40th birthday was 2 days ago, and I have spent the last 48 hours thinking about what has happened throughout my 40 trips around the sun. Here are a few things:

1) The Cold War end and the U.S.S.R. collapsed,

2) The Berlin Wall came down,

3) The U.S. elected a black president,

4) There were two presidents who were not elected (Ford & Bush the stupid),

5) The U.S. invaded Iraq, twice,

6) The Mets won the World Series once, the Islanders won the Stanley Cup 4 times, and the Jets still haven't returned to the Super Bowl.

7) The greatest race car driver ever died during a race, and so did Dale Earnhardt.

It has been interesting whirling around the sun so many times, but I think I'm getting too old for this. I think it's time to stop the world. I want to get off, and relax.

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